Ali Louis Bourzgui dedicates Tony award to immigrants and Palestine ...Accepting the award, the 26-year-old dedicated it to "the people of Palestine who deserve to live a fruitful life, a free life, a full life without occupation", drawing applause from the audience...

 

Ali Louis Bourzgui was born to a Moroccan-American father and an Italian-Irish mother [Getty/file photo]

Tony winner Ali Louis Bourzgui dedicates award to Palestinians

Tony winner Ali Louis Bourzgui dedicated his award to Palestinians and called for greater Arab representation in the arts.

Moroccan-American actor Ali Louis Bourzgui used his acceptance speech at the Tony Awards on Sunday night to speak out in support of Palestinians, immigrant communities and LGBTQ people after winning Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role in Broadway's The Lost Boys.

Accepting the award, the 26-year-old dedicated it to "the people of Palestine who deserve to live a fruitful life, a free life, a full life without occupation", drawing applause from the audience.

His remarks come as Palestinians in Gaza continue to endure Israel's devastating military campaign, while Palestinians in the occupied West Bank face escalating attacks by Israeli settlers and military forces, alongside ongoing displacement linked to settlement expansion.

Bourzgui also paid tribute to immigrant families and LGBTQ communities in the United States, telling them they should not have to "audition for the empathy" they deserve.

Speaking about immigrant communities, he said the "beautiful tapestry" they create is what makes the United States special.

"May you one day not have to audition for the empathy that should be freely given by this country that benefits from your beauty," he said.

The actor also used the moment to celebrate Arab artists and theatre makers, calling for greater visibility and representation.

Addressing underrepresented Arab creatives, he said he hoped they would continue telling their stories and showing their faces so that "our humanity becomes undeniable, and our families can no longer be written off as merely collateral damage."

"May they know the beauty of our kisses upon each cheek and the romance of a language rooted in passion for love and life itself," he added in his speech. 

 https://www.newarab.com/news/tony-winner-ali-louis-bourzgui-dedicates-award-palestinians

    [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]  

The Peace Walk “a powerful reminder that peace is practiced step by step. In a divided time, this is what it looks like to stand up for the best of who we are. Love demands endurance. Peace is strength.” MLKIII

Monks bring balm for America’s wounds as Washington cheers peace odyssey

Some monks have walked barefoot or in socks during parts of the journey. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

Buddhist monks had walked 2,300 miles from Texas, braving snow and often barefoot – their arrival in the capital was greeted by thousands

David Smith in Washington

Wed 11 Feb 2026 20.37 EST

Bhante Saranapala gazed down at more than a hundred Buddhist monks wearing burnt-orange, saffron and maroon robes, most sporting woolly hats, a few clutching flowers.

“These monks are awesome!” roared Saranapala, who is known as the “Urban Buddhist Monk”, prompting a cheer from the big crowd. “Their determination should be greatly appreciated. Walking from Texas to Washington DC, 2,300 miles; it requires strong determination!”

The Lincoln Memorial has witnessed much over the past century – Black opera singer Marian Anderson, Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, Richard Nixon’s late-night chat with the anti-war demonstrators – but rarely a scene as colourful as on Wednesday.

For 19 monks and Aloka, a rescue dog from India, it was an important stop on a 2,300-mile “Walk for Peace”, a self-described spiritual journey across nine states that had been cheered on by crowds of thousands.

The odyssey had begun in Texas 108 days ago, and saw them brave frigid temperatures and a paralysing winter storm, sometimes with bare feet, to raise “awareness of peace, loving-kindness, and compassion across America and the world”.

About 100 monks and nuns joined them in America’s political capital determined to stay away from politics, although among the thousands who gathered at the Lincoln Memorial was someone waving a Palestinian flag and another who held a big sign that said: “Peaceful resistance.”... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/11/buddhist-monks-peace-walk-washington-dc

 [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]     

United Nations Geneva: "The greatest danger to our future is apathy. You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.” Let her words of love & faith inspire you every day. Together, let’s honour Jane Goodall’s legacy by working towards a better world. #ActNow

United Nations Geneva

@UNGeneva

"The greatest danger to our future is apathy. You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.” Let her words of love & faith inspire you every day. Together, let’s honour Jane Goodall’s legacy by working towards a better world. #ActNow

"Surif is one of the beautiful Palestinian mountain towns located 25 km northwest of the city of Hebron. It also rises about 600 meters above sea level. It is known for its beautiful landscapes, and famous for the cultivation of olives, figs, almonds, grapes, pears, appricots and other fruits." Ibtisam Suleiman

Travel Palestine

Surif is one of the beautiful Palestinian mountain towns located 25 km northwest of the city of Hebron. It also rises about 600 meters above sea level. It is known for its beautiful landscapes, and famous for the cultivation of olives, figs, almonds, grapes, pears, appricots and other fruits.

Ibtisam Suleiman

#landscape #mountains #nature #fruits #cultivation #hebron #palestine

"...the possibility of infinite development"

Susan Muaddi Darraj  standing beside the Philadelphia Mural

from her facebook page

"This #Philadelphia #mural takes a quote by #WEBDuBois and translates it into #Arabic. (quote below)

It honors the neighborhood of Black Bottom, whose inhabitants were steadily displaced.

The mural was sponsored by @albustanseeds

"I believe that all men, black & brown & white, are brothers, varying through time & opportunity, in form & gift & feature, but differing in no essential partcular, & alike in soul & the possibility of infinite development."

- DuBois, Darkwater (1920) "

Nujoud Merancy wore a blazer embroidered with a Palestinian design in her new NASA work photo

"Blazers are my day-to-day wear, and tatreez is day-to-day wear in the Middle East, so I just thought, 'why can't I have something on my day-to-day clothing?'"

Nujoud Merancy wore a blazer embroidered with a Palestinian design in her new NASA work photo (NASA headshot)

'It's very me': NASA engineer celebrates Palestinian heritage in viral photo

Nujoud Merancy's decision to wear Palestinian tatreez in NASA headshot was inspired by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, she tells MEE

 

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/NASA-engineer-Palestinian-heritage-viral-photo-Nujoud-Merancy?fbclid=IwAR0YnxTqba_oUEXAIg46qje7fwXvHJTrBOS4OyubhQSWiPL_WiZFvsVi5GM

 

 "When she was a child, she made frequent summer trips to Nazareth to see her dad's [Palestinian] side of the family. Her relatives are the ancestrial caretakers of Nazareth's oldest Muslim house of worship, the White Mosque, built in 1804. 

 

"My family has been there for centuries. My uncle is the current caretaker [of the mosque], but it's been passed down through the generations, through the family of the caretakers," Merancy explained. 

She said her family in Palestine and the US have been incredibly supportive of her career.

And now, she said she hopes to inspire other young girls and boys across the world to reach for the stars."

This is Palestine... "I don't want to carry hate in my heart" Widid Kawar

This is Palestine from Lucy Lyon on Vimeo.

Collector, Widad Kawar explains her motivation towards creating a little piece of Palestine in her home in Amman, Jordan.

 "I taught myself not to hate. If I am going to carry hatred to Israel in my heart all the time, I am poisoning myself. I am a slave to this hatred.  So I learned to do something just the opposite: To be positive in one way or another... " Widad Kawar

Palestinian-American Author Ibtisam Barakat: "Religions need inspiring people as much as people need inspiring religions. . . "

Ibtisam Barakat's butterfly

Author Ibtisam Barakat - Palestine الأديبَة إبتسَام بَركات

"Religions were sent to improve the conditions of people. . . And now people should improve the conditions of religions by making them sources of inspiration and beauty, not sources of pain and violence.

Religions need inspiring people as much as people need inspiring religions. . . "
Author Ibtisam Barakat 2014